Facebook believes 70 percent of mobile traffic will be video by 2021

We’re all told video is growing rapidly, but according to Facebook, it will make up 70 percent of mobile traffic by 2021. This is up from about 50% today, according to the most recent Ericsson Mobility Report.

If you head to Facebook today, I’d bet most of your news feed is dominated by shared videos. With how much time people spend on Facebook it becomes no surprise to hear about the growth of video and how it will dominate mobile traffic in the coming years.

Beyond just viewing pre-recorded videos, more people are streaming what they’re doing for social experiences, gaming, and communicating.

One platform which this is happening on is Facebook’s very own Facebook Live which is seeing major growth. Since it launchedearlier this year, Facebook Live has grown by “4X,” according to Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

This growth is leading Facebook to become a “video first” company. During the Wall Street Journal’s WSJD conference, Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox showed off a new feature Facebook is looking to get onto mobile phones: Prisma-like filters that make live video appear in the style of renowned artists such as Georgia O’Keefe and Claude Monet.

“This will take the technology to the next level,” Cox said.

We’re excited for all the new video experiences coming our way, but ensuring mobile networks are prepared to handle them will be key. That preparation needs to begin now.

Are you surprised at the predicted growth of video traffic on mobile networks? Let us know in the comments.